not making excuses for dumb sledders but deep pow sledding is way harder to learn than skiing IMO. 1 have about 30 days on a sled and im a newb. its the hardest to learn sport I have ever done.
I wasn't talking about the skill required to be proficient, just the barrier to entry.
Anyone with a credit card and a hand can run a snow machine (admittedly not well), but even if you have the ski equipment you are unlikely to go ski touring if you can't stand on skis or stop.